Guard Dog

Not the biggest mistake of all but still a mistake was not breaking Iraq up into different countries once the fighting was finished. The entire nation itself was an artificial construct of the post WWI peace and has only been held together by brute force. First the British, then Hussien. The flaw in the US thinking was that Kurds, Sunnis & Shias would all be able to live together in the magical land of republican democracy where they would share power and be nice to each other. Not act like savages. Because, there are so many examples around the world where that is happening right?

Thank you everyone! I know I said I'd never get married again but it just goes to show... Never say never.

Not much going on here. We just got home from 10 days in Florida, mostly in Marathon in the Keys. We spent the first day in Cedar Key. Then the next day in Miami, then Key Largo to scuba dive at Pennekamp. Tommy was supposed to stay on the boat but he jumped in after us when we dove in. That was funny. Then we went to Key West for a day before heading back up to the campground where. we rented a cabin at in Marathon. We found a dog wandering around the park we spent a few days in in Sugarloaf Key. She was awfully skinny. We asked around the campground and everyone said she had been hanging around for a long time. They all said she was a stray. She was friendly but skittish. She became fast friends with Tommy though and she let us feed her and pet her. So... 700 miles, a bath and vet visit later she's sleeping next to Tommy on the couch in my office. We named her Sunny Smiles (just Sunny really) because of her smile and her bright yellow fur. The FONV reference is my own private joke since Steph has never played. Oh.. and we got married! (Not the dog, my fiancée). We've had the paperwork for a while and Steph has been mulling over what to do for a ceremony since neither of us has any immediate family. Then when we were in Key West watching the sun set she just turned to me and said let's just do right here, tonight. So we did our own impromptu thing on the pier at Key West with just Tommy the dog as a witness. All in all is was a hell of a lot better than my first time around! When she gets off work tomorrow morning we'll go to the courthouse and make it legal. It was a hell of a good time all around.

Lady GD, the REAL GD & I are leaving town tomorrow for a nice long vacation to the Florida Keys. Ya'll be cool until I get back!

Republican? Democrat? Sheesh, it's like choosing which butt cheek you want to get the shot in. The only thing I despise more than a republican politician is a democrat politician.

You always have the most hilarious posts. Hey a internet forum with no hyperbole is like a peanut butter sandwich with no jelly. You can still eat it but it gets awful dry!

Ros, leftists in the US married corporatism a few years back. And oh what ugly children that union is producing.

This surprises you? Well, lets just see. The Obama admin has teams of lawyers writing legal briefs on how they would be justified in using the US military against US citizens on US soil. They have already stated it's perfectly ok to use drones to kill US citizens with no trial or anything else that resembles due process. The IRS is actively hunting down any group that even sounds like it might oppose the administrations politics despite actually being caught and exposed doing it. It is the law of the land that not only can they take your home and not give you a nickel for it to use for public projects they can also take it away and give it to someone else to use for private projects. And if you object or have the audacity to take them to court they get to finically destroy you to boot (if the unrecompensed loss of you home did not already do that). Every e-mail and sms message sent in the country is filtered and screened then stored forever. They want to track our movements by tracking our license plates. They want to take away private gun ownership, compel you under penalty of law to enter into private contracts with companies they sponsor, use your tax dollars to save union jobs and screw the rest and if you try to object to any of this you must be a racist because the guy in charge of this leftist cabal happens to be black. We stopped being a free country the day those planes hit the world trade center I'm sorry to say. Although the trend has been going the wrong way for years. Then in 2008 & 2012 the voters put what freedom they had remaining and served it up to the left on a silver platter. Short of secession of armed conflict I don't see how this can be reversed. The best we can hope for it to slow it down.

LOL during my entire time in the Marine Corps and long after I got out I ran and lifted with about the same intensity that Woldan does now... and I wake up stiff & sore every day! Those chickens do come to roost one day! As he (Woldan) and I have already debated, weightlifting and other static anaerobic workouts are not the end-all of exercise regimens. I lead an active life with a good deal of outdoor physical activity and that alone keeps me in shape as well as disciplined & concentrated exercise. And it comes with the added bonus of actually getting work done while doing it.

I wouldn't call a win over the pathetic Sawx huge. That's a team that wasn't playing well even when it was fully healthy, and is currently comprised of about 50% minor leaguers because their roster is decimated. There are probably a good number of college teams that could beat the Sawx right now. Oh in itself it wasn't a big deal but the way the Rays have been struggling this three game sweep was just what the doctor ordered.

You wound me sir! Besides, I run to rad scorpions anyway. "I won the lottery".... POW!

I was playing FONV last night and, now that I know who Calax was, I shot him! Then I reloaded and threw a plasma grenade at him. Then I reloaded and led him to a rad scorpion. Then I reloaded and used a Fat Man... the possibilities are endless! It was like my own private screening on that new movie 1000 Ways to Die in the West! just kidding Calax, I didn't do any of that! But I could.

Here's an odd question; What the hell has happened to Bruce Jenner!?. Is it just me or is trying to turn himself into Michael Jackson? I think the Kardasian women are like acid. Whatever they touch they destroy. Looks like Kanye West is pretty screwed. But it was only a matter of time before he self destructed so we're just accelerating the inevitable.

Huge win in 15 innings over the Sawx last night. That's three in a row. Maybe the worm has turned. I'll be watching today with broom in hand.

That genuinely sucks. Sorry to hear that. Hope they catch the SOB. No crazy ex-girlfriends in the picture is there?

In a display of incompetence that is nearly Cub like the Rays pitching staff gave up only one hit against Oakland tonight... and LOST the DAMNED game 3-2. WTF? They had bases loaded with no outs and the middle of the order up in the 8th trailing by one... could not get a single run in. Poor hitting, shoddy defense, grrrr. The ERA of the staff is north of 5.00 and no relief in sight. The Team OBP is barely .300. WTF happened? This was supposed to be the best team they ever fielded.

Watched the OKC - SA game. Wow the Spurs rally are dominating. I suspect the thunder will be harder to beat back home but at this point I don't think the spurs can be stopped.

My initial advice would have been to ignore the message and send no reply at all. But after reading Raithe, Bruce & Gromnirs posts that would have been bad advice. Besides, in my own experience it is never a good thing to hold tight to anger even if there is good cause. And in your case there is more than ample cause. The best reply would be short and neutral. Ask nothing and offer nothing. Any real peace overtures from them would have to be to your wife as well as you. If there is a chance at reconciliation you don't want to snuff it out but they have to know there are going to have to go far more than half the way if that is her intent. I think one of my biggest life turning points is when I stopped hating my ex-wife and made peace with her. But I only did that under my terms. it would have been a shame to have not made peace but it would have been a bigger shame to not insist on acknowledgement of past wrongs too.

Gas grills are for folks who want to eat... NOW. There is just something satisfying about sipping a drink, relaxing, and just waiting for the coals to get hot. *Note for all you younger folks here, This is what happens when you get older. You start caring about the means as much as the ends.

Yeah from what I've read it is the best choice for even heating. The one I have now has definite cold spots.

Shopping online for a new charcoal grill. Mine was crappy when it was new... and it's not new. All the sites I've visiting recommend just a basic Weber kettle type grill.

Well, the Rays have finally started playing consistent. Consistently bad. Ugh. Thankfully this road trip is over and they are back home tomorrow.

Rays have split with the Angels so far. Game three starts in an hour. They are playing better lately but still very inconsistent on both sides of the plate. It amazes me how many folks were ready to kick dirt on their graves after that six game skid. Yes, things still don't look rosy but they are only 5 games back and it's only May for crying out loud.

I bought a new rifle today. It's made by H&R. It's a replica of the 1871 Buffalo, .45-70 single shot. Tomorrow I'm taking it to the bombing range and see what kind of range it has.

A leatherman would not be my first choice to cut branches but it is a hell of a lot more effective than a chainsaw that won't start.